Hades (Plane)
While counted among the lower planes, Hades is the afterlife for all followers of the Olympian Pantheon, with different areas for those who had offended or pleased the gods. All souls entering the lower planes must pass through part of Hades' territory, which makes it a neutral territory. Hades is presided over by the Olympian Deity of the same name, who demands respect from both Hell and The Abyss lest he cut off their supply of souls. Leaders of both factions of The Blood War are allowed to visit him but they are permitted to fight only on the battlefields of Tartarus. Hell and The Abyss have also both agreed to keep their squabbles away from the territories of Niflheim, whom Hades has agreed to protect. Hades' Queen, Persephone, visits this realm during the fall and winter and returns to her mother Demeter on Olympus during Spring and Summer. It is also the home of Hecate, a deity who leads the Furies - a group of epic level harpies that torment those who have upset the Olympian Pantheon. Styx: ''' The River Styx leads into Hades. Newly dead souls are compelled to walk toward their fated destinations and Charon the Ferryman, an epic level undead in the deity Hades' employ, transports them across Styx. Living residents of the lower planes may also be able to pay Charon for transport. Since Hades' rise to power, Charon has demanded a toll of a gold coin buried with the dead to ferry them across. Those who do not pay the toll are left for demons or devils to claim and do with as they please. Those souls that try to swim through the river find themselves trapped in it and unable to leave. The coins presented to Charon contain a small amount of magical energy due to the funeral rites involved in burial. Thus, for each soul that passes to the lower planes Hades gains some portion of power. '''Entrance to the Lower Planes: The entrance to Hades is guarded by Cerberus, an enormous, epic level, three-headed fiendish hound. He will attack the living who try to pass on sight unless they have received Hades' blessing. He also prevents the dead from escaping. Once past the first gate, guarded by Cerberus, souls will meet with Minos who guards the second gate. Once a wicked mortal king who worshiped the Olympian Pantheon he has since become the judge of the damned. Now a gigantic blind, tentacled horror, he will snare souls and raise them up to sniff them. He is able to tell their sins based on this. Those bound for Niflheim continue on to a part of the river Styx which has become frozen. Those bound for Hades continue through Minos' gate. There they cross a narrow bridge into the Olympian Underworld. Those bound for Hell are hurled into a yawning pit where they burn as they fall. Those bound for The Abyss are thrown into a gnashing, fang filled maw and digested as they pass into the realm of demons. Tartarus: Tartarus is the part of Hades where evil souls that offended the Olympian Pantheon are punished by Hecate and the Furies. As mortal souls bound for Tartarus walk through the gates of Minos, they fall from the bridge into a volcanic landscape of torment. Each soul is given their own specific punishment tailored for them by the deities whom they offended. Tartarus is also where the Titans, a family of deities who pre-dated the Olympians and were overthrown, are imprisoned, bereft of their former divine power. Formerly sealed within the pits of Tartarus were the Hecatoncheries, a primordial race of epic level giants with 100 hands and 100 heads that were among the first beings to rise on the world. The Hecatoncheries were the children of Gaea (a primordial goddess of the world) and Uranus (a primordial god of the sky) who deemed them ugly and sealed them away. Uranus' son Cronus then overthrew him with the aid of Gaea who gave him a magic sickle to steal divine power. Uranus fled into exile in the depths of space and Cronus became the had of the Titan pantheon. However, Cronus was in turn overthrown by his son Zeus after he failed to deliver on his promise to Gaea to free her children. Zeus and his siblings freed the Hecatoncheries and attacked Cronus, with Zeus stealing Gaea's sickle and using it against him. Zeus, after stealing Cronus' power, became the leader of the Olympian Pantheon and then betrayed the Hecatoncheries by sealing them away again. He then hurled the sickle into the depths of space so it could never be used against him. Gaea, though furious, was unable to defeat Zeus and all of his family, so she seemingly became dormant. However, Gaea was busy creating an enormously powerful epic level monster named Typhon that arose in Tartarus. Typhon freed the Hecatoncheries and together attacked the material plane and laid waste to the followers of the Olympian Pantheon and their cities. While Zeus and his pantheon were able to destroy the Hecatoncheries and seal Typhon back in Tartarus, they had lost most of their mortal believers and thus their ability to influence the material plane. Thus, they retreated to Olympus and allowed the Asgardian Pantheon the chance to rule the world. Gaea although mourning the death of her children was satisfied with her revenge. The Blood War: Tartarus also contains a massive battlefield in between the borders of Hell and The Abyss. Demon and Devil armies constantly wage war on this field and sometimes the Olympian God of War, Ares, appears to attack both sides by himself for fun before being eventually driven back to Olympus. The Yugoloth Cities: Neutral evil fiends known as Yugoloths reside in cities near the Blood War battlefield. These natives of Hades are war profiteers who scheme to keep the fighting between demons and devils going as long as possible. They forge wicked engines of war which they then sell to whichever faction is the highest bidder -with the currency being souls. They see both Hell and the Abyss, if left unchecked, as a threat to their power in the lower planes and wish to keep them both in check. Asphodel Meadows: The Asphodel Meadows are a mist filled plain where ghostly, white flowers grow. It is a place for ordinary or indifferent souls who did not commit any significant crimes, but who also did not achieve any greatness or recognition that would warrant them being admitted to the Elysian Fields. It was where mortals who did not belong anywhere else in the Underworld were sent. The Lethe, a river of forgetfulness, flows through this part of Hades which causes those who drink from it to lose their memories of their mortal lives. These souls become known as shades and their features eventually fade until they become little more than aimlessly wandering shadows. Elysium: Elysium is a place created by Persephone, who was able to use her powers over life and nature to bring a small amount of beauty to the otherwise dismal lower planes. It is the fate of those who earn the favor of the Olympian Pantheon, such as heroes and those who lived virtuous lives. It is a pristine, flowered meadow dotted by marbled cities and farms. It resembles an idealized version of these souls' lives on the material plane, with theater, athletic games, feasts, flowing wine and sex parties. Unlike Tuat, the home of the Pharonic Pantheon, the Olympian deities do not reside here among the souls of their followers, choosing instead to reside on the higher plane of Olympus.